4 Little Words
by NeoNails
Summary: Oneshot. "At first, I thought I was right. I thought I had made the right decision. I had found the perfect person for me. We were never happy." People change, and she was one of those people.


I finished Chapter 2 of _The Aftereffect_ (the M-rated fic that I alternately love and hate), and had this written out for a while. You guys did _not_ share my dislike for Chapter 2, which just makes me appreciate this fandom even more.

I reread this recently and was surprised how proud I was of this one. Plus, I feel guilty that I'm having a rough time finishing Chapter 3 of _The Aftereffect_ and Chapter 4 of _How to Hit Rock Bottom_, so I decided to submit this one in their stead.

Anyway, I was feeling pretty good, and at the time I had watched He's Just Not That Into You. It was a little bit predictable (as a writer, I like to challenge myself by calling plot twists, broken couples, and new relationships ahead of time and seeing if I'm right), but very sweet, and watching the problems between the married and not-yet-married couples really stuck with me. So, I whipped this little oneshot up during Math class. Something different, at least.

$4$

_You treat me like a queen when we go out  
__Wanna show everyone what our love's about  
__All wrapped up in me whenever there is a crowd  
__But when no one's around…_

- "Stranger," by Hilary Duff

* * *

If you're not careful, 4 little words can change your entire existence.

At first, I thought I was right. I thought I had made the right decision. I had found the perfect person for me.

When I was a child, and even when I was older, a teenager, I thought there would be a handsome knight in shining armor, ready to sweep me up and take me away from all my problems. And, really, how sick was that? I actually bought in to that disgustingly sexist ideal that a woman needs a big, strong man to solve everything for her, and how-

Sorry. I'm digressing. My new therapist says rambling on random tangents is my way of expressing my emotions when I spend all of my time bottling them up.

My family, my friends, everyone- they were all so happy. So happy for me. They thought this was perfect. They thought that we were perfect. For a long time, even I believed it. That I was happy. That we were happy.

We were never happy.

We tolerated one another. We put up with each other's existence, all the while putting on little shows, pretending to love one another.

We did love one another. We weren't _in_ love, though. We never were.

I've read all the magazines, I listened to all the doctors, heard all the excuses. We were too young, too dumb, blinded by what we thought was true love.

It's all shit. It's our own damn fault. We didn't think, we just acted. We did what we thought would make everyone else happy, and were stupidly surprised when we found out that happiness didn't actually apply to us.

We were idiots. We didn't let anyone else try to stop us from making this huge decision, not that there was anyone who tried, and it's our own fault for letting it happen.

You wouldn't think 4 words would be so life-changing.

Will you marry me?

It can end your life or create a happy ending for all.

You're having an affair.

I know; I've known.

I don't blame you- you aren't finding any love in this relationship. I know I'm not.

I love you, Will.

4 simple words can be so important, but so hard to say.

I want a divorce.

Love Always,

Layla

**

* * *

**

"She's already sent the divorce papers…"

"…heard she's had a lawyer set up for the past few months, working on this behind his back. Poor guy…"

"I heard he'd been cheating on her with Gwen Grayson. Do you believe it? A superhero and a supervillain, together…"

"…she supposedly skipped town. Can't stand to be the most hated woman in all of Maxville."

"That's what you get for leaving the Captain in the dust…"

Warren ignored the comments, the gossip, the questions. Everyone wanted to know what Will Stronghold's best friend had to say on the subject. He didn't, and anyone dumb enough to ask twice was looking at a charred plate of Chinese food.

He was given the deed to the Paper Lantern after the original owners passed away. He didn't mind; he liked the little restaurant, and it provided a good cover for his secret identity.

He didn't care that Will and Layla were getting a divorce. Will was actually happy, and really was dating Gwen Grayson- not that anyone was happy about that part. But he seemed to be in a better mood than any point in his marriage with Layla.

Magenta was the only one who was still talking to Layla on any kind of regular basis. She was supposedly doing just as well, but she wasn't as comfortable around her old friends. Warren had a sneaking suspicion she really had bolted, and moved somewhere else. He hadn't seen or spoken to her in over three weeks, and he knew her well enough to know she close to leaving Maxville from the very beginning.

One of the waitresses left early, sick with a headcold, so Warren was forced to wait on her assigned tables. All the while, he tried to pretend as though people weren't gossiping about some of his closest friends, and pretend as though the idea _didn't_ piss him off to no end.

He walked over to the newest occupied table, a small booth for two, and asked, "Hey, I'm Warren. What would you like to drink?" He glanced up from his pad of paper and stopped abruptly. There was a small potted plant on the table.

The Paper Lantern had a small vase with a white daisy on each table, something Leslie, the head waitress, liked to do to "brighten up the place." Every so often, she changed the type of flower, but never was it in a terracotta pot, and never was it a miniature tree with tiny lemons hanging from the branches.

"Lemons?" he questioned, mostly to himself, and finally looked at the woman sitting at the table. She smiled serenely, and set down her menu.

"You cut your hair," he added.

"So did you," she replied.

"You dyed it," he replied, putting away the pen and pad.

Her smile grew slightly wider. "All-natural recipe. It's supposed to last about two weeks before it fades and I'll have to reapply it."

"Still… black?"

Layla tucked her chin-length hair behind her ears and pursed her lips. "It's dark brown," she corrected, somewhat self-consciously.

Warren smiled a little at that, and then looked back at the plant. "What's with the lemons, hippie?"

Her grin returned. It had been a long time since he had called her that affectionate pet name. Her big brown doe eyes glanced around the room, and then finally settled back on him. "I'll tell you if you sit down?"

He didn't check to see the rest of the customers. The Lantern wasn't quite bustling, but there were already several customers that needed to be served or waited on, but he had more pressing matters. He sat down across from her and listened.

The lemon tree stayed at his apartment.

So did she.

$4$

Yes, I am a tool, but I like it. And I broke 1,000 words, which is what I try to accomplish every time I write a oneshot or a chapter. It doesn't always happen, but it's my own little challenge every time I sit down to write.

It's a little more angsty than usual, which I seem to be doing lately in other oneshots (for those 2 of you that read my stuff in other fandoms XP).

Hope you liked it!


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